Insights

This week, the Minnesota Supreme Court in Alonzo v. Menholt expressly adopted negligent selection of an independent contractor as a cause of action in Minnesota courts. In establishing that a general contractor may be held liable for the negligence of selecting an independent contractor, the Court also laid out several factors used to evaluate such a claim....

On December 4, the Minnesota Court of Appeals put to test a 2022 Minesota Supreme Court ruling in Justice v. Marvel, LLC which held that, for a liability waiver to release a party from its own negligence, the waiver’s language must be specific, clear, and unequivocal....

The Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Cedant v. United States brought renewed attention to a critical aspect of litigation: which experts must produce reports. In Cedant, the Eleventh Circuit clarified the contours of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) and what it means to be “retained or specifically employed to provide expert testimony” and, thus, who is required to prepare an extensive written report under the rule. ...

Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in International Shoe Co. v. Washington, more than a half century ago, federal courts have applied a contacts-based analysis to determine whether a court has personal jurisdiction over a defendant to render judgments affecting the rights of the defendant. But the recent Mallory decision may have introduced a new avenue for personal jurisdiction across the United States. ...

Recently, the Minnesota State Legislature expanded the scope of a plaintiff’s potential recovery for wrongful death actions. Now, in addition to general pecuniary losses (loss of income, property, services, aid, advice, comfort, and assistance), plaintiffs in wrongful death lawsuits can seek recovery “for all damages suffered by the decedent resulting from the injury prior to the decedent’s death.”...

In its recent ruling in Oien v. Home Depot, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed Minnesota law that businesses must keep premises reasonably safe, not guard against all possible consequences....